and speak fooner than drink, and drink fooner than

pray.

Henry IV. P. 1, A. 2, S. 1.

NO S E.

His chin, new reap'd,

Shew'd like a ftubble land at harvest home:

He was perfumed like a milliner;

And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held
A pouncet-box, which ever and anon

He gave his nose. Henry IV. P. 1, A. 1, S. 3.

drink; and drink fooner than pray.] According to the fpecimen given us in this play, of this diffolute gang, we have no reason to think they were lefs ready to drink than speak. We should certainly read,-They will ftrike fooner than speak; and fpeak fooner than think; and think fooner than pray.

WARBURTON.

I am in doubt about this paffage. There is yet a part unexplained. What is the meaning of fuch as can hold in? It cannot mean fuch as can keep their own fecret, for they will, he fays, Speak fooner than think; and though we should read, by tranfpofition, fuch as will speak fooner than ftrike, the climax will not proceed regularly. I must leave it as it is.

JOHNSON.

"Drink" is certainly wrong, and for the reafon given by Dr. Warburton; but think is fcarcely right. Drink, I am of opinion, has been printed in mistake for drien, the old word for fuffer. I read the paffage thus:

"Such as will strike fooner than speak, and speak fooner than "drien (fuffer); and drien (fuffer) fooner than pray.' Here the climax is perfectly regular.

"Hold in" fhould, I think, be hold on, i. e. fuch as will pursue their courfe,-such as are not eafily terrified. This agrees with the reading above propofed, and gives confiftency to the entire fpeech.

A. B.

ОАТ Н.

O.

H

OATH.

E profeffes no keeping of oaths; in breaking them, he is stronger than Hercules. He will lie, fir, with fuch volubility, that you would think truth were a fool: drunkenness is his best virtue: for he will be fwine-drunk.

All's well that ends well, A. 4, S. 3.

Not for Bohemia, nor the pomp that may
Be thereat glean'd; for all the fun fees, or
The close earth wombs, or the profound fea hides
In unknown fathoms, will I break my oath.

Winter's Tale, A. 4, S. 3.

If thou wert any way given to virtue, I would fwear by thy face; my oath fhould be, by this fire : but thou art altogether given over; and wert indeed, but for the light in thy face, the fon of utter darknefs. Henry IV. P. 1, A. 3, S. 3.

A thousand oaths, an ocean of his tears,
And instances as infinite of love,

Warrant me welcome.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, A. 2, S.7.

His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles;
His love fincere, his thoughts immaculate;
His tears, pure meffengers fent from his heart;
His heart as far from fraud, as heaven from earth.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, A. 2, S. 7.

He has betray'd your business, and given up,
For certain drops of falt, your city Rome
(I fay, your city) to his wife and mother:

Breaking

Coriolanus, A. 5,

S. 5:

Breaking his oath and refolution, like

A twift of rotten filk.

You fwore to us,

And you did fwear that oath at Doncaster,-
That you did nothing purpose 'gainst the state;
Nor claim no further than your new-fall'n right,
The feat of Gaunt, dukedom of Lancaster :
To this we fware our aid. Henry IV. P. 1, A. 5, S. 1.

That's a brave man! he writes brave verfes, fpeaks brave words, fwears brave oaths, and breaks them bravely. As you like it, A. 3, S. 4.

Were it not against our laws,

Againft my crown, my oath, my dignity,
Which princes, would they, may not difannul,
My foul fhould fue as advocate for thee.

Comedy of Errors, A. 1, S. 1.

Pernicious woman,

Think'st thou thy oaths

Were testimonies against his worth and credit,

That's feal'd in approbation?

Meafure for Meafure, A. 5, S. 1,

With mine own hands I give away my crown,
With mine own tongue deny my facred state,
With mine own breath release all duteous oaths:
All pomp and majefty I do forfwear.

Richard II. A. 4. S. 1.

Were I a common laugher, or did ufe
To ftale with ordinary oaths my love
To every new protefter; if you know
That I do fawn on men, and hug them hard,
And after scandal them; hold me dangerous.

Julius Cæfar, A. 1, S. 2.

No, not an oath:
Swear priefts and cowards, and men cautelous,
Old feeble carrions, and such suffering fouls
That welcome wrongs; unto bad caufes fwear

Such

Such creatures as men doubt: but do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprize,

Nor the infuppreffive mettle of our spirits,

To think, that, or our caufe, or our performance,
Did need an oath.
Julius Caefar, A. 2, S. 1.

So foon as ever thou feeft him, draw; and, as thou draw'ft, fwear horribly: for it comes to pafs oft, that a terrible oath, with a fwaggering accent fharply twang'd off, gives manhood more approbation than even proof itself would have earn'd him.

Twelfth Night, A. 3, S. 4.

OBLIVION.

Your defert speaks loud; and I should wrong it,
To lock it in the wards of covert bofom,
When it deferves with characters of brafs

A forted refidence, 'gainst the tooth of time
And razure of oblivion.

Meafure for Measure, A. 5, S. 1.

Laft scene of all,

Is fecond childishness, and mere oblivion;

Sans teeth, fans eyes, fans tafte, fans every thing.

As you like it, A. 2, S. 7.

Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back,

Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,

A great-fiz'd monster of ingratitudes;

Those scraps are good deeds paft; which are devour'd As faft as they are made.

Troilus and Creffida, A. 3, S. 3.

The noble ifle doth want her proper

limbs;

Her face defac'd with scars of infamy,
Her royal ftock graft with ignoble plants,
And almost shoulder'd in the fwallowing gulph
Of dark forgetfulness and deep oblivion.

Richard III. A. 3, S. 7.

Sir, you and I must part,—but that's not it:
Sir, you and I have lov'd, but there's not it;
That you know well: fomething it is I would,-
O, my oblivion is a very Antony,

And I am all forgotten.

Antony and Cleopatra, A. 1, S. 3.

OBSTRUCTION.

Ay, but to die, and go we know not where;
To lie in cold obftruction, and to rot;

This fenfible warm motion to become

A kneaded clod. Measure for Measure, A. 3, S. 1.

OCCUPATIO N.

O you mortal engines, whofe rude throats
The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit,
Farewel! Othello's occupation's gone!

Othello, A. 3, S. 3.

Contract, fucceffion,

Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none, No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil:

No occupation.

Tempeft, A. 2, S. 1.

ODOUR.

That strain again;-it had a dying fall:
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south,
That breathes upon a bank of violets,

Stealing and giving odour.

Twelfth Night, A. 1, S. 1.

1 Bourn, bound of land.] A bourn, in this place, fignifies limit, a meer, a land-mark. STEEVENS. "Bourn" is properly a little river, though fometimes used for a boundary. It must have its original meaning here, the more efpecially as "bound of land" immediately follows it.

Borke is a limit, a boundary. See note on King Lear, page 37.

A. B.

OFFENCES.